The present invention is in the field where a device collects data from a vehicle and that data is used for various purposes. Data may be used in the device itself or off board the device/vehicle. One common application for such a device is a vehicle data collection device used for Usage Based Insurance (UBI) which connects to a vehicle and calculates or reads vehicle speed, distance driven, deceleration and other vehicle data. In 1996 the US Government required that all new light duty vehicles incorporate a standard called OBDII to communicate emissions related information via a standard connector and a standard set of communications protocols utilizing several different electronic signal levels/networks. This standard has been responsible for a wide proliferation of products related to vehicle data and collection of data. This standard has been codified into law by the California Air Resources Board which establishes the legal requirements for the car manufacturers to implement cars with the OBDII features.
Many devices of various natures have been designed to read the data from a vehicle's electrical bus or OBDII port and then use that data for a multitude of uses. The accuracy and resolution of the data signals are defined in the OBDII standard. Since all manufacturers must conform to the OBDII standard, the accuracy and resolution requirements for the data limit the accuracy and resolution of the data. The OBDII Standard is defined by law in the California code of Regulations:
“1968.2. Malfunction and Diagnostic System Requirements 2004 and Subsequent Model Year Passenger Cars, Light Duty Trucks, and Medium Duty Vehicles and Engines.”
The OBDII standard incorporates five signaling protocols that are permitted with an OBD-II device. Most vehicles implement only one of the protocols. The protocols are SAE J1850 PWM, SAE J1850 VPW, ISO 9141-2, ISO 14230 KWP2000 and ISO 15765 CAN
All vehicles manufactured since 2008 are required to use the ISO 15765 CAN protocol of the standard.
All OBD-II equipped vehicles use the same mandated diagnostic connector, but different pins are used for different protocols with the exception of pin 4 (battery ground) and pin 16 (battery positive). Many countries around the world have adopted the same or similar standard such as EOBD used in Europe. Both the US and international standards define the data that is available in various formats. Most device manufacturers, wishing to conform to the standards, purchase the standards directly from the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) as each standard is needed. They may also purchase a complete copy of the standard in a book form which is the SAE book: HS-3000. The standards have enabled a wide variety of devices and applications to proliferate.
In addition to the OBDII standard methods for gathering data, most vehicle manufacturers have additional methods they incorporate into a vehicle for returning data from a diagnostic port from a vehicle bus. These methods are often referred to in the industry as proprietary communications. Proprietary communications provide the means to read data that is not available in the OBDII standard. They supply more data about the emissions system and also provide data on non-emissions related systems such as the vehicle body, chassis, airbags etc. In order to use proprietary communications to gather data from the vehicle bus, a device manufacturer must normally sign a license with most vehicle manufacturer(s) (OEM). Once the license is signed, a proprietary data and communication standard will be supplied by the OEM or a 3rd party organization such as the Equipment and Tool Institute. This standard then tells a device manufacturer how to gather the proprietary data. Proprietary communications provide a unique challenge to device manufacturers as the methods for reading data are all different depending on the make and sometimes model and year of the vehicle. In addition, proprietary communication commands often have some of the same problems with accuracy and resolution of certain signals as outlined below.